"Now have the seals been broken;
now is the sealed book open. Hear now, my people, and I will show
you
the mystery
of the seals as they relate to my end-time purposes. The seals
have a double fulfillment: one is the overall historical,
covering
the period from the days of the increasing alignment of church
with the powers of state in the fourth century until the end of the
present
age, and the other is the short term end-time fulfillment. For I
conform all things to the basic pattern of truth which is recorded
in My Word. Therefore hear, and I will show you the
‘seals' and
their fulfillment during the years that you are
living; in
the end-time period of the present age.
You shall note that it
was the Lion of the tribe of Judah who prevailed to open the
seven-sealed book (Rev. 5:5), yet it was a Lamb who took the book, or
scroll, from the hand of Him that sat on the throne and opened the
seals thereof (Rev. 5:6-7, 6:1). What does this portray? It portrays
the truth of Jesus' ministry as King-priest (Heb. 5:10, 7:1-2). As a
priest, He is the Lamb of God who gave Himself as the perfect
sacrifice on the cross and who ever lives to make intercession for
the redeemed (Heb. 7:25-27). As a King, He is the Lion of the
tribe of
Judah who reigns on the
throne of David (Isa. 9:6-7, Luke 1:31-33). Now,
during this dispensation of redemption, His Lamb ministry
predominates; that is why He is seen as
a Lamb (Rev. 5:6). But as the present dispensation draws to a
close, and the seals of judgment are opened to bring to an end the
mis-rule of
man, it is the Lion ministry that begins to prevail; for Jesus the King begins
to actively take over that which is rightfully His. He begins to
exert the power and authority which was given to Him after His
resurrection (Matt. 28:18), in such a way as to completely
eliminate the usurpation of Satan-controlled man, and exercise
His own
right as King. It is during the end-time period of
the seals
and the trumpets that forces of judgment are set in motion, so that
man's civilization will utterly collapse, and thus finally
it becomes fulfilled that ‘the kingdoms of this world are become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and he shall reign for the
eons.’ (Rev. 11:15). The lion nature of Jesus' ruling
authority
must be made manifest, and this begins to prevail as the seals are opened,
but it does not completely predominate until all rival rule
and authority has been put down. First, His Lamb ministry of
redemption must be completely fulfilled for the present age, even
though His Lion ministry of Kingship begins to come to the
fore.
This, my people, must also be the pattern
in your own lives. First, you must fulfill the pattern of the
Lamb. You must learn submission, meekness,
sacrifice, and willingness to hear and follow the voice of
the Shepherd (John 10:27), or you
will never enter the Lion ministry of joint-rulership
with Christ. If you are
fully yielded and prepared as a Lamb, then you
shall come
forth in that end-time ministry of power, boldness and authority
which is symbolized by the Lion. The fact that the Lion of the tribe
of Judah
has begun to exercise His prerogatives will be manifested on the
earth, not only by judgments upon man's civilization, but
also by the bringing forth of a people who shall enter into spiritual
realms of 'ruling with Christ’ that no people have
ever experienced before, and which shall cause a spiritual 'shaking' and
revival unprecedented in human history. Great shall be the
glory, power, and dominion which shall be shown forth by a people
who have first come into the fullness of the Lamb nature of full
submission,
and then are moved into the Lion ministry of the Lord's end-time glorious
church.
The preceding is portrayed in the vision which John
saw of the ‘mighty messenger’ with the ‘little book
open.'
(Rev. 10:1-2). The mighty Messenger, who is
preparing an end-time Body through the unveiling of the
end-time message of the little book, is seen, crying with a loud
voice 'as when a lion roars.' (Rev. 10:3). And when
He had cried 'seven thunders uttered their
voices.'
Here is portrayed a people, responding to the vibratory pitch of the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, and entering
into the lion ministry of the seven thunders. No longer meek
and lamb-like before the world, but bold as a lion and with Kingly
power and authority. Yet, the Lion and the Lamb must 'lie down' together in
every member of that Body. (See Isa. 11:6). For unto the Lord Himself, they
shall ever be lamb-like; submissive, obedient, hearing
only His
voice; but unto the world they shall manifest the Lion-like nature of
Kingly authority, ruling power, regal bearing, and a Word
ministry of
spiritual vitality and liberating dynamic. But this shall
come forth only in a people thoroughly prepared by the Lord,
and who have learned to live and walk in the Spirit, giving themselves in
totality to
the call of the Spirit upon their lives.
[the
first seal]
Now let me show you the seals
and their fulfillment
in this end
time. When the first seal was opened, John heard one of the four
living
creatures which surrounded the throne saying, 'Come and
see' (Rev.
6:1).
Symbolically, John was to go to a certain geographical area where he
would see, that which was to unfold on the stage of history. He then
saw 'a
white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given
unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer' (Rev. 6:2). The
horse was white, which speaks of the power of war or
conflict and conquest with a religious motivation. The rider was given a bow
and crowned to go forth conquering and to conquer. That is, the
desired goal of conquering would not be fully realized, but the
desire would be there. Here is a picture of the church
militant: the church trying to further its cause by alliance with military
government and power, with the excuse that its motive is to bring
the Christian religion to conquered foes. Since
the days
that the
church first apostatized and went in to
the state,
committing
fornication with kings and rulers, and making flesh its
arm, it has
sought to
further its interests by the power of the sword (or
bow). Millions have been slain down through this
age by the church militant as it has taken advantage of force
and conquest in alliance with government power. So has the white
horse and its rider gone forth down through history.
But consider now, says the
Lord, the end-time application of the white horse
as it
relates to the unleashing of those forces which are helping to gather the
nations to Armageddon. The white horse began to
march when Mussolini, with a workable understanding with the
Vatican, went forth
conquering and to conquer. Although he failed to fully achieve his
objectives, when he set forth on his expansionist dreams, the seal
was broken in its end-time application. The stage was being set for
titanic conflict and forces unto judgment were set in motion, the effects
of which shall continue until the end. This will be more fully
explained later.
[the
second seal]
John was again told to 'Come and see’,
which indicates that he was
symbolically carried to another geographical location to see other
forces unto judgment set in motion. This time John
saw a horse that was red, 'and power was given to him that sat
thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one
another: and there was given to him a great sword.' (Rev. 6:4). It
should not be too hard, my people, for you to discern that there is
one force which has been responsible for continually taking peace
from the earth ever since it raised its ugly head. The second seal was
opened when Red Russia began to foment revolution and division in other
countries. This is why the rider of the red horse was given a great
sword. The sword is a symbol of division through revolution resulting in
much bloodshed, as well as outright attack. Dictator Stalin
set the red horse fully in motion and the communist revolution
has continued to foment strife, conflict and
warfare ever since. Since power was given to the red horse rider to
'take peace
from the earth', there shall be no way that the
nations can live in peaceful co-existence with
communism. It is either stand up and fight or be conquered. As
this beast
system gains the ascendancy in the earth, and the false prophet re-organizes the
United Nations as its front, there will be those peoples and nations who will
not wholly submit, and there will be continuous bloodshed
throughout its reign of terror. Therefore peace will be no more
until the Prince of peace comes, and the red horse rider is no
more.
[the
third seal]
When the third seal was opened, John was again
invited to 'Come and see', symbolically
denoting
another geographical area to behold. Then he saw a black horse
and its rider who had a pair of balances in his hand. A voice then
spoke saying, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and
three measures of barley for a penny; and see you
hurt not the oil and the wine.' (Rev. 6:5-7). In the same period of
time which saw the ascendancy of Mussolini and Stalin, another 'mad' dictator arose
to plunge the nations into conflict, unleashing forces which have helped
to pave the way for the final armageddon of nations. His name was
Hitler. In
the strict
regimented
social system of Hitler's Germany, black became the predominate emblem.
The 'balances’ in the rider's hand, plus
the reference to the ‘measures' and their price, indicate the
extent to which the economy was completely controlled and
the means of livelihood strictly rationed that all available
resources might be channeled to munitions of war. This
was even more so in occupied countries where strenuous toil made
possible
only bare subsistence, that the conquered nations might be made
subservient to the Nazi war effort. There will be a more
specific insight into the symbolism of these economic factors a
little later.
[side
commentary on first three horses]
Before considering the final
horse and rider, let me show you the significance of the
first three as they relate to the developing world scene, for in one form
or another, the forces which were set in motion by the opening of the seals
continue to the end. In relation to the gathering of
the nations to Armageddon, it is written that there were 'three unclean
spirits like frogs' which came 'out of the mouth of the dragon, and out
of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.' (Rev. 16:13). These
correspond to the first three horses and their riders. That
which came out of the mouth of the dragon was Fascism (in close relation
to an authoritarian church), that which came out of the
mouth of the beast was Communism, and that which came out of the
mouth of the false prophet was National Socialism (Nazism).
Rome was the
seat of the dragon, Moscow was the home of the beast, and Berlin the dwelling
place of the false prophet. These are pictured as ‘the spirits of devils' which go forth
to gather the nations to the battle of the great day of God
Almighty. (Rev. 16:14). Initially, as the seals were first opened, they
were personified in Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler.
But note, says the
Lord, a 'spirit,' or demon power, is not confined to a
specific individual, but continues to work after he is removed from
the scene. Therefore the same powers which were initially manifested
in Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler, continue under modified forms and with
varying
degrees of influence. They continue to create that instability,
power struggle, and ideological conflict, which shall eventually
lead to all-out war. The tendency has been, ever since the end of
World War II, for the dragon, or rightest fascism (as it has worked in
close harmony with the authoritarian Roman
church in various countries) to give way to and be absorbed by
the socialist and communist ideologies. This is portrayed in
Rev. 13:2
by the fact that the dragon gives to
the beast 'his power, and his seat, and great
authority."
Since Rome is the seat of the dragon, this means that
Italy will go communist
and be absorbed into the beast system. Likewise,
other Catholic dominated countries will also be taken over by
communist or socialist elements. Another development is that socialism
and communism will tend to come closer together in
their ideologies. This will continue until the communist, socialist
and semi-socialist nations will unite together in a United Nations World
Government. For a time the Roman Catholic church will work out an
accommodation
with communism’ and along with the apostate Protestant
denominations, will give full support to the beast of
World Government (the second beast of Rev. 13). But
eventually the communist forces will turn on the church to destroy her.
This is pictured by the ten horns (puppet nations) turning against
the whore to desolate her. (Rev. 17; 16).
You can now see how, in the
developmental process since World War II, that National Socialism,
as it was practiced under Hitler, with its one man
tyranny and its super racism, has evolved in its implementation
and methodology into an internationally orientated socialist statism within
many countries. Yet it is still the same exalting of
paternalistic, 'keeper' governments which rob men of their
individual responsibility under God, and
regulate the lives of all citizens in subservience to
the tyranny of the self perpetuating collectivist
ruling
elite. Thus the stage is being set for the final fulfillment
of the 'false prophet" who will head up a
coalition of socialist, semi-socialist, and communist nations in a
United Nations world government. At first such a Utopian world
government will appear very benign and lamb-like, (see Rev. 13:11). But in
time its true nature will become apparent to many, for in actual
practice it will merely be a 'front' for the beast of communism. This is seen in the
fact that the second beast of Rev. 13 causes an 'image' of the first
beast to 'live' for the inhabitants of the world to be
subservient to. (13: 14-15). This is an ideological image of a
planned and controlled economic and social system in
every nation which is a part of the world
government beast. Since it is an 'image' of the first beast (communism), it
means that all nations will be forced to increasingly communize their
economic
and social
systems under threat of destruction. The man who heads this world
government of nations will be the final and complete
fulfillment of the ‘false prophet,’ of which Hitler was the
crude prototype.
[the
fourth seal]
Look with me now, says the Lord, at the opening of the
fourth seal. John was again told to 'Come and
see' and
another portion of the earth was symbolically viewed. This
time he beheld 'a pale horse: and his name that sat
on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was
given to them over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and
with the
beasts of the earth.' (Rev. 6:7-8). During the same general
time period which saw the going forth of the forces described in the
first three seals, there arose another force which was to vitally
affect another portion of the world. The Imperialistic war
lords of Japan set out on an expansionist course which led to the
unprovoked conquest of China. This is the meaning of the statement that
'power was
given to them over the fourth
part of the earth.' (Rev. 6:8). That 'fourth part' was the people
of China.
The 'Death' rider continued his advances until in
his vaunted success he struck at Pearl Harbor and engaged forces
which led to his downfall. But, notice, says
the Lord, that the 'Death' rider was followed by another called
'Hell' (or the
Unseen), and it is said that power was given to them over
the fourth part of the earth. In other words, after China had been
subjugated
and weakened by the Japanese, the powers of 'Hell’ took over
following the Japanese exit. This was none other than the
force of Communism. And the pale horse continues as China suffers
under the scourge of the demonic powers of the Unseen realm through
Communist tyranny.